Particular movements emerged in different regions at different times, each
with its own set of saints, although later movements often included the saints of
earlier ones within their clan and all continue to this day. In the Tamil-speaking
region the sixth to the ninth centuries were the heyday of the A ̄l
̄
va ̄rs (those
“immersed in God”) who were dedicated to Vis.n.u and of the Na ̄yan
̄
a ̄s whose
loving service was directed to S ́iva (Ramanujan 1993; Peterson 1989). The
songs of both the A ̄l
̄
va ̄rs and the Na ̄yan
̄a ̄s are deeply connected to the Tamil
countryside, addressing individually the particular manifestations of Vis.n.u
and S ́iva in each of its many temples. In the Kannada speaking region in the
tenth to twelfth century the Vı ̄ras ́aiva saints thrived. Theirs was a radically egali-
tarian tradition, rejecting all manner of outward religious display which might
be facilitated by wealth. The body was seen as the most important temple, and
S ́iva was enshrined within. Devotees wandered as mendicants teaching this way
to God. Gender and caste were directly addressed in their songs as only the
passing accidents of birth and irrelevant to spiritual attainment (Ramanujan
1973).
North Indian devotional traditions may be said to begin in the Marathi-
speaking region (modern day Maharashtra) in the thirteenth century with
Jña ̄nes ́var and his saintly brothers Nivr.ttina ̄th and Sopan and sister Muktaba ̄ı ̄,
outcast from society because their father had been a renouncer returned to the
householder life. Jña ̄nes ́var’s Jña ̄nes ́variis recognized as a masterpiece of devo-
tional literature, and together they are seen as the originators of a devotional
movement that would be called the Va ̄rkarı ̄s (Ranade 1933). The saint Na ̄mdev’s
life overlapped theirs and extended into the mid-fourteenth century, and he sang
of the efficacy of reciting the name of God, of singing songs of praise, and of
spending one’s time in the company of other devotees, all practices affirmed
across the spectrum of bhaktimovements (Callewaert and Lath 1989). He
stressed the attitude of the heart over outward acts of worship and addressed
his songs sometimes to the incarnate Lord Kr.s.n.a, other times to the One who is
beyond human imaginings. Both Na ̄th traditions and the Mahanubhava sect
influenced the development of this sect, and earlier layers of S ́aiva tradition were
combined with Vais.n.ava devotion (Vaudeville 1987). Worship focuses on the
regional deity Vit.t.hal, recognized as a form of Kr.s.n.a, who first became manifest
at Pandharpur (now an essential pilgrimage destination for members of the sect)
and whose longing for his devotees is likened to that of a cow separated from her
calf. The brahmanEkna ̄th added much to the literature of the Va ̄rkarı ̄s in the six-
teenth century, including a Marathi translation and commentary on the stories
of Kr.s.n.a’s life, and the seventeenth-century s ́u ̄drasaint Tuka ̄ra ̄m sang in coarse
and beautiful language of the nature of human existence, the mysteries of God,
and the struggles of the devotional path (Chitre 1991).
Poet saints emerged across north India from the fourteenth century onward.
Ra ̄ma ̄nand is said to be a disciple of the famous bhaktiphilosopher theologian
of South India, Ra ̄ma ̄nuja, and the guru of a number of renowned low-caste
saints, though conflicting accounts are given of his life and religious practices
(Burghart 1978). The Ra ̄ma ̄nandi tradition or samprada ̄ytraces its origins to his
186 nancy m. martin